Project description:Marine sponges are essential for coral reefs to thrive and harbour a diverse microbiome that is thought to contribute to host health. Although the overall function of sponge symbionts has been increasingly described, in-depth characterisation of each taxa remains challenging, with many sponge species hosting up to 3,000 distinct microbial species. Recently, the sponge Ianthella basta has emerged as a model organism for symbiosis research, hosting only three dominant symbionts: a Thaumarchaeotum, a Gammaproteobacterium, and an Alphaproteobacterium and a range of other minor taxa. Here, we retrieved metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) for >90% of I. basta’s microbial community which allowed us to make a complete metabolic reconstruction of the sponge’s microbiome, identifying metabolic complementarity between microbes, as well as the importance of symbionts present in low abundance. We also mined the metagenomes for putative viral sequences, highlighting the contribution of viruses to the overall metabolism of the sponge, and complement this data with metaproteomic sequencing to identify active metabolic pathways in both prokaryotes and viruses. This data now allows us to use I. basta as a model organism for studying host-microbe interactions and provides a basis for future (genomic) manipulative experiments.
Project description:Laparoscopic surgery of the distal colon and rectum requires surgery with an appropriate field of view. A commonly used technique to create a clear exposure is the steep Trendelenburg position in which the patient is positioned in an angle of 15 to 40 degrees with the head down using the effect of gravity to retract the small intestine. This method is associated with haemostatic changes caused by the cranial shift of abdominal organs and blood. Recently, a cellulose compressed sponge was developed as intraoperative retractor, with the aim to keep the small intestines aside while the patient remains in a horizontal position. The safety of the sponge is secured with CE marking. The retractor sponge ensures a clear surgical field and potentially prevents haemostatic instability by avoiding Trendelenburg position. A pilot study in the St Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein has shown that use of the sponge might be associated with shorter hospital stay.
Project description:miRNA sponge, a special class of miRNA target, has been emerging as a pivotal player in miRNA mediated regulatory network. Currently, the identified miRNA sponge genes mostly act on sequestering conserved miRNAs (e.g. miR-7, miR-145), however, the existence, potential function and evolutionary process of miRNA sponge genes for species-specific miRNA, especially for human specific miRNA, are largely unknown. In this study, we conducted a systematic analysis including sponge gene identification and subsequent function and evolutionary analyses for an authentic human-specific miRNA, miR-941.